Cycling: Fabio Aru's star rose at the Giro last year. Who is starting this year? Velomotion presents promising talents under the age of 25.
Rick Zabel (BMC)
The son of sprint legend Erik Zabel contests his first three-week national tour with the Giro d'Italia. At BMC he will be confronted with greater challenges this year than in his debut season in 2014: Zabel has been racing since the beginning of February and drove in Dubai and Qatar, among other places. As he had hoped, he competed in numerous classics in Belgium, Holland and France, including the E 3 Harelbeke and Paris-Roubaix, where he reached the velodrome in 103rd place. At the Giro, the 21-year-old is supposed to gain experience and work for Philippe Gilbert and BMC's hope for Damiano Caruso. If the stable order allows it, you might see him in a breakaway group.
Davide Formolo (Cannondale Garmin)
Cannondale Garmin manager Jonathan Vaughters says Formolo will undoubtedly win the Giro one day. Great advance praise for the 22-year-old man from Veneto. His results from this season do not suggest that he will have his breakthrough this year, but they do bode well: Formolo was 14th in the general classification of the Tour of Algarve, as well as in the Critérium International. He finished the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège 35th and 32nd respectively. All very respectable results for such a young rider. He competes in the Giro alongside experienced men such as former Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal and Tom Danielson. He will benefit from their tips and maybe lay the foundation for a Giro victory in the coming years.
Dayer Quintana (Movistar)
The younger brother of last year's winner Nairo Quintana has been a pro with the Movistar team since last year. While the 22-year-old won't be able to ensure that Giro victory stays in the Quintana family, the youngster has potential! Last year, as a new professional, he won the difficult stage of the Tour of Austria on the Kitzbüheler Horn. In the overall standings he was ninth. That year he was 22nd in the Tour de San Luis in Argentina, finishing the Tour of Algarve, Paris-Nice and the Three Days of de Panne. Similar to his brother Nairo, Dayer is a proven climbing specialist who struggles in the individual time trials. But his results give reason to hope that, like his brother, he could one day play a role in the major national tours.
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